




THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC. 



SPEECH 



OF 



■•y 



HON. WILLIAM SULZER, 



OF NEW YORK, 



< 



IN THE 






HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



Tuesday, March 27, 1900. 



WASOINGTOM. 
I 900. 




S P E E C II 



OF 



HON. WILLIAM SULZER. 



The House being in Committee of the "Whole House on the state of the 
Union on the bill making ajDpropi'iations for the Army- 
Mr. SULZER said: 

Mr.. Chairman: Since the commencement of this session of 
Congress several resolutions expressing sympathy with the South 
African i^atriots have been introduced in this House by myself 
and other members. The Speaker has referred these resolutions 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and, although ample time 
has elapsed, that committee has taken, so far. as we know, no 
action, and apparently does not intend to take any action in re- 
gard to the same. 

For that reason, and lest a more favorable opportunity shall 
not be available, I desire at this time to express and to place on 
record my condemnation of the unjust, the inhuman, the preda- 
tory, the cruel, and the barbarous war the Empire of Great Britain 
is ruthlessly and relentlessly conducting in South Africa to destroy 
and exterminate two brave little republics, sisters of our own, 
and as free and as independent as this Republic. 

Mr. Chairman, the patriotic people of this country take a deep 
and an abiding interest in the life and death struggle between re- 
public and empire now going on in South Africa. As an Amer- 
ican citizen and a Representative in this Congress, I am not' 
ashamed to have it known that my sympathy is now, always has 
been, and always "will be with the heroic Boers in their magnifi- 
cent struggle to maintain their freedom and their independence 
against the piracy of the corrupt oligarchy now controlling the 
policy of the British Empire. 

I am with the Boers and I want to see them maintain their in- 
dependence because they are right and because they are free and 
deserve to be free. In a contest between liberty and monarchy I 
want to see liberty win. 

The cause of the patriots of South Africa is a just cause. No 
one who impartially reads history can honestly dispute it. They 
are defending their homes and repelling a tyrannical and a re- 
morseless invader. England's attempt to steal their country is 
the outrage of the century, the culminating atrocity of criminal 
British aggression, and should bs condemned by this Republic 
and by the Christian powers of the world. 

In my judgment, if I mistake not public opinion, nine-tenths of 
the American people are against England in this bloody war of 
conquest for sordid gain and in sympathy with the Boers. The 
best thought of England condemns the conflict, and the awaken- 
ing conscience of the British Empire demands peace with honor 
in the name of humanity, Christianity, and civilization. 

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In 1776 the patriot fathers of this Republic foiigiit England to 
gain our independence. The South African patriots toTday are 
fighting the same country to maintain their independence. That 
is the only difference. / 

The courage of the Boers in the face of tremendous odds has 
challenged the admiration of mankind, and their heroism against 
almost insurmountable obstacles has won the respect of the civ- 
ilized world. They are entitled to our sympathy, and we would 
be false to ourselves and to all our history if we did not give it to 
them. The sacrifices they have thus far made and the gallantry, 
heroism, and bravery they have exhibited are unequaled and un- 
paralleled in the history of the world. 

The story of the struggles, the hardships, the trials, and the 
triumphs of these brave people in South Africa is one of the sad- 
dest and one of the greatest pages in all history— an imperishable 
heritage to every lover of liberty, and to their hardy and valor- 
ous descendants an incentive to maintain their freedom, that can 
never be crushed. No true American can impartially read the 
history of the Boers without feeling a deep sympathy for them in 
their present struggle to uphold and defend their independence 
against English greed for gold, English tyranny, and criminal 
British aggression for land. 

In regard to all the facts of the case there may be some honest 
difference of opinion; but if there is, it is based, I believe, to a 
large extent on misinformation or a lack of knowledge of all the 
circumstances. English agencies have been sedulously at work 
for some time unceasingly disseminating misinformation in re- 
gard to the Boers and the true situation in South Africa. Let me 
ask you all to search out the truth ere you pass judgment on the 
brave republicans of South Africa. 

Let us briefly review the situation. We must not rely too much 
on the colored, the doctored, and the censored British reports 
from English sources in Cape Colony. England is now and al- 
ways has been unscrupulous. In a war like this— a war against 
humanity — she has little regard for truth. 

In South Africa there are two free and independent countries— ' 
one called the "South African Republic," the other called the 
"Orange Free State." They are duly organized Govermnents, 
republican in form, patterned to a great extent after our own, and 
recognized as free and independent throughout the woi'ld. As a 
matter of law and as a matter of fact, England has no more right 
to meddle with them or to interfere in their internal affairs than 
she has to meddle with Mexico or interfere in the internal affairs 
of the United States. These States are now and have been ever 
since the convention of 1884 free and independent States. There 
can be no controversy about this. 

These brave South African patriots are a good deal like the 
patriots of our own Revolution. They love their homes, their 
freedom, and their liberty. They come from good old Saxon an- 
cestors from the north of Europe. They love free institutions, 
the same as we do, for the sake of personal liberty. It comes to 
them naturally and by inheritance. Their love of liberty is not 
of a day or of a year, but of centuries. 

They are a brave, a fearless, a patriotic, a liberty-loving, and a 

God-fearing people. Many years ago their ancestors emigrated 

from Holland, from France, and from other places in the north 

of Europe to Cape Colony in order to live under free institutions, 

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enjoy the blessings of liberty, and worship their Maker according 
to the dictates of their own conscience. 

The Puritan, the Hollander, the Irishman, the German, and the 
Cavalier came to this country for the same reason and for the 
same purpose. 

These sturdy immigrants and their heroic descendants carved 
out unaided and alone their own destiny in the wilds of the Dark 
Continent amid unspeakable hardships and privations and gave to 
the world a civilization as good as our own. For a century and 
more, in sunshine and in storm, these brave people toiled and 
plodded on, and they builded, like the fathers of this Republic, 
better than they knew. Surrounded by savages, harassed by 
wild beasts, visited by famine and scourged by disease, in all the 
long weary and dreary years they never lost hope; they prayed to 
God and never despaired. 

They are a simple Christian people, as honest as they are brave. 
They redeemed the wilderness, turned the desert wastes into sweep- 
ing fields of grain, made the jungle blossom and bloom like a rose, 
and dotted the hills with villages and towns. Notwithstanding- 
all they had to contend with, they grew, they prospered, and they 
were happy until perfidious Albion came. From that day to this 
England has made cruel war on the Boers. She has repeatedly 
robbed them of their lives, their property, and their lands. 

But the spirit of their love of liberty has never been broken. 
Yoii can not conquer a brave people inspired by the love of freedom 
and battling on their own soil for their homes and their liberties, 
They will never surrender their principles. They will resist op- 
pression and tyranny until they are exterminated by overwhelm- 
ing and superior force. They know, like Patrick Henry, that 
resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. Their love of liberty 
is stronger and more tenacious than their love of life. Their his- 
tory is an epic poem of one long heroic struggle against English 
greed, English tyranny, and English oppression. 

These brave Boers are now fighting, perhaps for the last time, 
for republicanism against monarchy; for democracy against plu- 
'tocracy; for home rule against the bayonet; for the ballot against 
the throne: for the love of home against the love of gold; for 
Saxon freedom against British tyranny; for the integrity of their 
country against a ruthless invader; for the schoolhouse against 
the army barracks; for religious freedom against foreign domina- 
tion; for the fireside of civilization against the blazing torch of 
devastation; for free institutions against imperialism; and, above 
all and beyond all, they are fighting a battle for the rights of man. 
God grant that their liberties and their independence shall not be 
destroyed. 

When we consider it all, how true seem the words of Lowell: 

Trnth forever on the scaffold, "Wrong forever on the throne; 
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown 
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch upon His own. 

To-day in South Africa Truth is on the scaffold and in England 
Wrong is on the throne. 

The absolute independence of the South African Republic was 
finally recognized by Great Britain in 1884, and ever since then it 
has been as free and as independent as our own great Republic. 

Prior to the year 1884 these brave and fearless men and their 
ancestors had struggled and struggled for a century and more to 
establish what they now possess and what they are at present so 
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gallantly fighting to maintaui— a free and independent govern- 
ment of their own. Once, twice, three times has England vio- 
lated her solemn pledge to them and trespassed on their sacred 
rights. She saw what they had wrought, and her greedy sons 
coveted it. The Boers were compelled by English greed and 
tyranny and power to move farther and farther inland. When- 
ever they thought they were secure and had the right to enjoy the 
blessings of liberty and self-government, England encroached on 
their domain, waged pitiless and savage war against them, and 
drove them farther and farther from the sea. 

To their credit and their glory, however, be it said that every 
encroachment on their land, their rights, and their liberties has 
been manfully and stubbornly resisted. They were forced to 
move on, but tliey never gave up their freedom; they never sur- 
rendered their independence. 

Prior to the present conflict Majuba Hill marks the place of the 
last contest with Great Britain of these valorous people for their 
homes and their firesides. Majuba Hill! Forever glorious in the 
annals of the South African Republic's struggle to maintain its 
independence. Majuba Hill to them is the same as Bunker Hill 
to us, and both will live in history to the end of time as an inspira- 
tion to man. 

After this disastrous blow to British arms the convention of 1884 
was entered into, and all other and prior treaties were annulled. 
By this treaty the South African Republic became free and inde- 
pendent and took its place among the nations of the world. And 
Lord Derby, then secretary of state for the colonies and a very 
different man from Joseph Chamberlain, distinctly stated in Par- 
liament that the South African Republic V\ras independent and free 
to govern itself. The question of England's paramountcy in 
South Africa was not mentioned, and never a word was said about 
British "suzerainty." 

That great English statesman, friend of the Boers, friend of lib- 
erty and of Irish home rule, William E. Gladstone, said the word 
' ' suzerainty "was dropped on purpose. 

Even as late as May, 1896, after the Jameson raid, Mr. Chamber- 
lain said in .the House of Commons: 

A war in South Africa would "ba one of the most serious wars that could 
possibly be waged. It would be a long war, a bitter war, and a costly war. 
It would leave behind it the embers of a strife which I believe generations 
would hardly be long enough to extinguish. To go to war with President 
Kruger in order to enforce upon him reforms in the internal affairs of his State, 
in which secretaries of state, standing in this place, have rejiudiated all right 
of interference— that would be a course of action as immoral as it would have 
been unwise. 

Now, sir, I say, from the record, that it must be clear and plain 
to everyone who has reviewed the question from an English as 
well as a Boer standpoint that the South African Republic is and 
was since 1884 a sovereign and independent State. In proof of 
this I cite the additional fact that it was admitted to the Inter- 
national Postal Union, that it was a member of the Convention of 
Geneva, and that our own Government and ail the other powers 
recognized it and appointed to it consuls. The United States 
consul at Pretoria to-day is acting in that capacity, not only for 
us but for Great Britain as well. 

Under all tlie circumstances, it seems to me England is now pre- 
cluded from raising the question of the independence of the South 
African Republic. For England to raise this contention at this 
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6 

late day is a mere flimsy pretext, an afterthought of Cecil Rhodes 
and Joseph Chamberlain, and constitutes a blunder worse than a 
crime. 

The question of suzerainty was not raised at first in the differences 
with the South African Republic. There never would have been 
trouble if gold had not been discovered in the land. The rich find 
of gold there is at the bottom of it all. Love of gold is the cause 
of this cruel Anglo- African war. 

Cecil Rhodes, the most daring and colossal grabber and manii^u- 
lator of the century, coveted the Boers' golden land. He wanted 
it for his English chartered syndicate. He and Chamberlain insti- 
gated the Jameson raid, and Chamberlain repudiated it when the 
Boers made it a miserable failure. Cecil Rhodes plotted and 
planned against the Boers. He stirred up dissension among the 
people at Pretoria; he conspired in South Africa and in Europe to 
overthrow the Republics. He is the power behind the British 
ministry in this war, and Chamberlain is now, and always has 
been, his willing tool. 

This conflict should be called Cecil Rhodes's war for gold and 
conquest in South Africa. He is responsible for all the woe, all 
the sorrow, all the despair, and all the misery this war has caused. 
He is the Pizarro of the nineteenth century. 

Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Rhodes began the present trouble by 
taking up the alleged grievances of the English aliens or uitland- 
ers in South Africa. Mr. Chamberlain practically demanded they 
be enfranchised without abjuring or renouncing their allegiance 
to the British Crown. This proposition is, and was, preposterous. 
No government on earth would submit to it. 

If the English aliens in the Transvaal wanted to become citizens 
of the Boer Republic, they had to comply with the law, just the 
same as English aliens in this country, in order to become citi- 
zens of the United States, must comply with our law and renounce 
forever their allegiance to the British Crown. The law there re- 
garding naturalization is just about the same as the law here. 
If anything, it is more liberal. 

But be these grievances of the foreigners in the South African 
Republic regarding franchise, taxation, and representation just or 
unjust, reasonable or unreasonable, it was no cause for this san- 
guinary war. As a matter of fact, however, the South African 
Republic was willing to comply with every request of the English 
Government regarding the franchise and all other alleged griev- 
ances of the uitlanders. 

I think it can be safely stated that the Boers were willing to ar- 
bitrate all questions of difference between the two Governments: 
but England declined and began a systematic concentration of 
English troops on their frontier, which in itself constituted a prac- 
tical declaration of war against them. 

And, sir, let me say right here that if the friends and sympa- 
thizers of England urge as a reason for British interference and 
as a justification of this war the alleged grievances of the uitland- 
ers in regard to the franchise, taxation, and representation in the 
Transvaal, the friends and sympathizers of the Boers answer that 
England's rules, laws, and regulations regarding American aliens 
in the British Klondike are more severe, more grievous, and 
more burdensome. And yet does anyone here urge a war with 
England on account of the grievances of American miners in 
the British Klondike? 
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From all the facts and circumstances in the case, I am convinced 
and clearly of the opinion that England has no right to interfere 
in the internal affairs of the Boers. Her pretexts for doing so are 
untenable, and her entire course in the matter has been selfish, 
cruel, unjustifiable, and dishonorable. 

The war she is waging against them to-day is the most crimi- 
nal, the most defenseless, and the most predatory war in all his- 
tory." The Boers at all times were willing to concede every fair 
and just demand England made. Nothing would satisfy Rhodes 
^nd Chamberlain., They wanted the land of the Boers because it 
contained gold, and all the other incidental demands were merely 
pretexts. As soon as one was conceded, another and a harder one 
was made. 

The truth is, and history will so i-ecord it, that England wanted 
the control of this country because it is the richest in gold in the 
world. England always puts in a claim where gold is found. 

England is nov7, and always has been, the aggressor against the 
Boers. The concentration of British trooijs on the frontier of the 
Orange Free State and the South African Republic was a virtual 
declaration of war. England forced the war. England began it. 
The Boers yielded everything but independence to satisfy England. 
If the Boers had not struck for their rights, their firesides, and 
their independence when they did and as they did, they would 
have been overwhelmed by superior British forces before they 
could have struck a blow and resistance would have been useless. 
They were right in sti iking when they did. 

I glory in the spunk of grand old Paul Kruger. He is one of 
the world's great heroes. He knew only too well how dangerous 
was delay, and everything that has occurred since he issued his 
defiant ultimatum to the British Crown has demonstrated his 
wisdom and his foresight. He is a grand old man, one of the 
world's immortals, and will always stand out on the pages of his- 
tory as a friend of man, a lover of liberty, and a champion of 
freedom. 

The ultimatum he issued to England rang round the globe, and 
will live in the world's history. 

The Boers will never surrender their love of liberty. They can 
only be conquered by being exterminated, and England must not 
be permitted to exterminate them and steal their homes. Her 
criminal march of devastation must and will be checked. 

America should do its duty. The great Republic, the beacon 
light of the world, in the name of liberty, humanity, and justice, 
miast demand peace and make that dem.and good. We have the 
right to insist on peace with honor. V/e have the right to express 
our sympathy. We have tlie right to aid the Red Cross Society. 
International law gives us these rights, and we should exercise 
them. Why are we silent? 

We sympathized with Poland, with Hungary, with Greece, with 
all the South American Rei^ublics, with Armenia, and with Cuba 
in their struggles for freedom. Many we helped. Why, I ask, in 
the name of all that is just and honorable, in the name of our 
glorious past, should we now refuse to lend our moral support, 
our sympathy, and our aid to the patriots of South Africa? Is the 
great lighfof the Republic going out? Is American sentiment 
dead? 

A republic that has sunk so low that it glories in the downfall 
of a sister republic is in danger of destruction itself. A republic 
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tliat refuses sj^mpathy to a sister republic struggling to maintain 
its independence against monarchical agression is unworthy the 
name and in danger of monarchy itself. A repiiblic that will se- 
cretly aid a monarchy to destroy a republic and blot out its free 
institutions is a republic rotten to the core, and will soon fall like 
a decayed tree on the banks of a turbulent stream to be swept 
away forever. 

Mr. Chairman, in my opinion the defeat of the Boers will be 
the severest blow to republican institutions that has been struck 
in more than a century, and every friend of . liberty the world 
over should fervently pi'ay that Oom Paul may be successful. 
How patriotic citizens of this country can sympathize with Great 
Britain in this cruel, unjust, and unholy war against our two 
sister Republics is beyond my comprehension. Their defeat will 
be a terrible blow to free institutions on this hemisphere, and give 
thrones and empires a renewed lease of life at the very dawn of 
the twentieth century. 

The Committee on Foreign Affairs, this Republican Congress, 
and this pro-English Administration of William McKinley will 
do nothing for libertj-, nothing for the Boers, and secretly sympa- 
thize with Gi'eat Britain. Every liberty-loving citizen of the Re- 
Ijublic i^hould denounce and condemn these pro-English and im- 
perialistic tendencies. This Republic should stand by repiiblics— 
not against them. I want to see the right triumph, and if it does 
the Boers will maintain the independence of their coiintrj-. 

God bless the embattled farmers of South Africa is my fervent 
prayer, and from the ashes of the conflict may there arise a greater 
and a grander republic — the glorious United States of South 
Africa. [Prolonged applause on the Democratic side,] 
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